Oru Yathrayil Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2013 | Anthology, Drama
Critics:
Audience:
Our Yathrayil is not the most endearing anthological movie you would come across. Comprising of four flicks which never manage to rise above the ordinary, this cinematic venture is not likely to leave any lasting impression on the minds of movie lovers.
Jan 19, 2013 By TRV RAJ


Our Yathrayil is not the most endearing anthological movie you would come across. Comprising of four flicks which never manage to rise above the ordinary, this cinematic venture is not likely to leave any lasting impression on the minds of movie lovers. Tales are as disparate as chalk and cheese and the common thread that should have tied them together is conspicuous by its absence.


A few youngsters who hope to gatecrash into the world of movies are together on a boat journey. They all have stories with them, which they believe, are good enough to be made into movies. While on the way to fulfill their ambitions, they deem it fitting to narrate each of those tales, so that others could judge it. The result- four portmanteau films are unfolded before us!


'Honeymoon', directed by Rajesh Amanakkara, is a take on the life of a newlywed couple in the backdrop of a slum. Kannan Pattambi and Pooja play the lead couple. A few moments of privacy is akin to a honeymoon for this hapless couple. Luxury and satiety, of the cozy side of city life, always stand in stark contrast to the life of the marginalized, for whom even the essentials of existence is a mirage. But despite the lofty intentions, the movie as a whole elevates less and enervates more. Weak scripting and ordinary performances play spoilsport. A rather striking climax is perhaps the only saving grace of this otherwise drab venture.


Mathews' directed 'I love my Appa', which is the second short film, is set in the backdrop of a typical Brahmin colony in Kalpathy in Palakkad. An irascible husband played by Jayan Cherthala and his pliant wife enacted by Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and their young son caught in the maelstrom are the threesome in this family drama. Peace seldom reigns in the family of this Vasthu expert! The temper tantrums of his father, who seldom holds back whenever he gets a chance to scold him, leaves the young boy (Master Vivas) bitterly sad. His loving mother is his only solace as his father continues to make mountains of molehills. Things take a sudden turn as a ghastly incident in their life, makes the fulminating father realize the value of love. Innocence of childhood and parent's inability to give quality time to their wards is the basic premise of the short film. There is nothing novel in it, as the scenes give you a sense of dejà vu. It eventually culminates after fulfilling its tryst with predictability.



National award winning director Priyanandanan's 'Marichavarude Kadal', is about the decline of Gandhian principles in the modern era. It flits between past and present, as the tale of an elderly couple wedded to Gandhism is narrated, in the backdrop of sea. The sea, here is a symbol of the watery end of the great ideals of the father of the nation. Remya Nambeeshan and Vineeth Kumar play the lead roles in this one. Although her make up in the aged get up is gawky, Remya has given a fair account of herself. Vineeth Kumar looks refreshing and is convincing as the Gandhian who sees ideal dreams in his youthful days only to see them vanish into thin air as age catches up with him. C.K.Babu, as the elderly Gandhian doesn't have much to do, except show a few exaggerated antics of a paralyzed man. Priyanandanan is not exactly in fine fettle here, but still holds forte to emerge almost unscathed. Marichavarude Kadal is easily the better one among the lot. The hands of a crafty director is visible here albeit fleetingly.


Amma directed by Major Ravi, with veteran actors Janardhanan and Sukumari in the lead is the last bead in this not so edifying cinematic garland. It is a tale of an elderly housewife who yearns for love and attention from her husband and grown up children. An epitome of goodness, for whom compassion and benevolence is second nature, she is rebuked and hated by her husband and children for no particular reason. Her innate goodness and selfless love is realized by her husband and sons towards the end. Mature performances from seasoned actors are the only appealing factor in this manufactured tear jerker. A hollow plot eventually results in its falling apart, as cooked up and melodramatic scenes rear up with irritating regularity. As the last one, it is sad that it leaves the least impression.


The climactic scenes which are purportedly aimed at giving a semblance of totality and commonality to the four stories in 'Oru Yathrayil' don't bear fruit either. It fails substantially as an episodic movie, although it could be deemed as a sporadically success one, if considered as a loose combination of entirely different stories.


TRV RAJ

   

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